After a tenuous 24 hours on the waiver wire, the Calgary Flames have some clarity on the statuses of a pair of their players. On Monday, the Flames placed forward Connor Zary and defenceman Brayden Pachal on the waiver wire.

On Tuesday, both players cleared waivers, becoming eligible for assignment to the American Hockey League’s Calgary Wranglers, and gaining the Flames a good deal of flexibility in terms of their NHL roster for the next while.

Since they’ve cleared waivers, both Zary and Pachal can remain on an NHL roster for 30 days cumulatively until they require waivers once again to be re-assigned to the American Hockey League.

Each season’s cap burial amount is set each season at $375,000 above the NHL’s league minimum salary (which is $850,000 this season), so for 2026-27, up to $1.225 million of each and every contract can be buried in the AHL.

Connor Zary has a $3.775 million cap hit, but $1.225 million of that can be buried when he’s in the AHL, so the Flames will be carrying a $2.55 million cap penalty while he’s with the Wranglers. (He is on a one-way deal, so he’ll continue to receive his full NHL salary no matter if he’s in the NHL or AHL.)

Zary hasn’t been in the AHL since October 2023, when he was with the Wranglers.

Brayden Pachal has a $1,187,500 cap hit, which is below the $1.225 million cap burial number, so his entire cap hit disappears while he’s in the AHL. (He is also on a one-way deal, so he’ll continue to receive his full NHL pay whether he’s in the NHL or AHL.)

Pachal hasn’t been in the AHL since March 2023, when he was captaining the Henderson Silver Knights.

It’s probably reasonable to expect a roster move involving Zary and Pachal going to the AHL, and a corresponding move bringing players to the NHL from the Wranglers, sometime on Tuesday afternoon.

The Flames are back in action on Thursday night when they host the Colorado Avalanche.

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